BLOCKING PORNOGRAPHIC SITES

BLOCKING PORNOGRAPHIC SITES:

(Review of policy): 1.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) whether the Ministry will review its policy and consider pre-blocking pornographic sites on the Internet even though the blockage may not be foolproof; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider directing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide the service of blocking pornographic websites for free.

The Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government has taken a practical light-touch approach to regulating the Internet.

Under the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) Class Licence scheme, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Singapore are required to block access to 100 websites, which include pornographic sites. This block on 100 sites is a symbolic statement of our community’s stand on harmful and undesirable content on the Internet. ISPs and Internet Content Providers are also required to remove objectionable content upon notification by the MDA.

In addition, ISPs provide optional opt-in filtering services that will filter out pornographic and other undesirable websites. I strongly encourage parents to subscribe to such filtering services to protect their children from undesirable Internet content. ISPs offer these filtering services at $3 to $5 per month and some filtering services are offered free of charge with certain subscription plans. There are also filtering software that can be downloaded for free from the Internet. The MDA is working closely with the

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industry to raise greater public awareness of Internet filtering tools and services, and to make them easily available to the public.

In line with the recommendations by the recent Censorship Review Committee, the Government will require ISPs to actively market their Internet filtering services to consumers at the point-of-sale and renewal of their Internet subscriptions. This would be more beneficial than simply providing the filters for free by default, as parents can learn about and understand the benefits of such filtering services and exercise parental responsibility to protect their children.

We recognise that given the borderless nature of the Internet, it is not possible to block every undesirable website. As our hon. Member has pointed out, no blocks can be foolproof. Hence, in addition to regulatory protection and filtering services, public education is critical, especially for our children, on the proper and safe use of the Internet. The MDA has been working closely with partners from the public, people and private sectors to implement cyberwellness outreach programmes that promote the responsible and discerning use of new media. The Inter-Ministry Cyberwellness Steering Committee (ICSC) that was set up in 2009 has initiated and funded cyberwellness programmes to promote cyberwellness particularly among our youths.

This multi-pronged approach of regulation and cooperation between the Government, industry and the public has worked well in promoting the responsible use of the Internet.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to assure the hon. Member that MDA takes a serious view against those who distribute pornography and will not hesitate to take

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action where possible. In Singapore, it is an offence to electronically distribute or publicly exhibit any obscene materials.

Mdm Cynthia Phua (Aljunied): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister two supplementary questions. Can the Minister let us know how prevalent are pornographic websites on the Internet? That is, after surfing the Net for three hours or after a week of Internet usage, what are the chances of such sites appearing? Secondly, how frequently has MDA, say over the last one year, been able to detect pornographic sites?

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: Sir, the first question is how prevalent are such sites and how easy is it for a user to stumble onto such sites. It is really difficult to give the Member a direct answer to this. Our belief is that either people are sent the links to these sites or they search the links out themselves. My belief is that accidental access is more a rare than a common occurrence.

The second point is that MDA does scan the Internet. The 100 sites that I mentioned consist not only of pornographic sites but also those inciting hatred, terrorism, and so on. There are tens of thousands of such pornographic sites and more of them are being discovered every day. Where necessary, MDA will include these sites, especially the more prominent ones, on the symbolic list of 100 sites in order to remind the public periodically that there is material on the Internet not just pornographic but other material that is not wholesome and not edifying.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah): Sir, I am sure if any user "googles" it, he can find a lot of these sites easily. I was just wondering if the Ministry has done any surveys with parents, for example, who wished that such controls be put in place. May I know the Ministry's position in terms of it not wanting parents to be

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complacent versus filtering all sites as a mandate? Is there a gap between public expectations and the Ministry's position?

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: Sir, when the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) was convened last year, they did a public survey on a variety of issues, one of which was the use of Internet filters. The survey asked if respondents were aware of such filters and for those who are aware whether they subscribe to it, and if not, what are the reasons for not doing so. Our belief is that the filters can be a complementary tool to whatever it is that we are doing. The CRC survey results show that 71% of Internet users who are parents with young children aged up to 14 years are not subscribers of Internet filters. Thirty-seven percent of respondents (Internet users who are parents with children aged up to 14 years) are aware that there are filters, but decided not to subscribe to the filters. So, it is not due to a lack of awareness nor the cost of the service. Three main reasons were ascribed to this non-subscription: (i) they are already teaching their children the skills to navigate the Internet, (ii) they are already monitoring their children's Internet usage, and (iii) their children are given very limited access to the Internet. So, for this group, it is not due to awareness nor is it related to cost issues.

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